When the Bill Russell who played baseball was growing up in Pittsburg, Kan., the kids in his neighborhood would choose up sides at a place called Deramus Park. It was a literal sandlot. You know the type: All dirt infield, patchwork grass in the outfield, chain-link fence that bends and bows in places. Windy as hell, too, said the former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop.

I’ve never been much of a conspiracy guy. I believe Oswald acted alone, that battleships don’t suddenly disappear in foggy weather off the coast of Philadelphia, that the quality control people really believed the new Coke tasted better than the old Coke and never planned to reintroduce the latter to sell even more Coke.

Editor’s note: Longtime local sports writer and columnist Ron Kantowski begins writing columns for the Las Vegas Review-Journal today. Kantowski’s columns will be published twice each week, on Sunday and Tuesday.